The Scottish Ambulance Service has been given a month to bring forward plans to end the single-staffing of its emergency ambulances.
"I have made it clear to the Scottish Ambulance Service that it must take action to eliminate rostered single-manning," Ms Sturgeon told MSPs, making it clear the use of rapid response vehicles, designed to be manned by a single-paramedic, was also being looked at.
In London there is an increasing move to have solo responder RRVs going to calls (it helps with the eight minute target), in fact the move is to reduce the number of double manned ambulances and instead have many more solo cars.
In London a lot of the RRVs are manned staffed by ambulance technicians rather than paramedics, and ambulance techs don't have the same drugs available as paramedics.
When I was working on the RRV if I arrived at someone who was having a seizure there I couldn't give the drugs that a paramedic would use to stop the fit.
This plan, the 'front end' model, where a RRV is first sent to a job to decide if a double-crewed ambulance should be sent is due to be rolled out in London in the near future. This story would mean that at least one person in government is unhappy with this plan. Along with a lot of on-the-floor ambulance staff.
So I wonder if the Health secretary will be looking at other ambulance trusts?
